"The three of us will always be one."- Aqua


As it turned out Xehanort didn't have to look too hard for his friend. He found Eraqus close by, leaning against one of the support pillars, a worried expression painted on his face. Xehanort decided to take the opportunity and scare him. He stealthily snuck up on Eraqus and tapped him on the shoulder.

Eraqus nearly fell over, letting out a shout of surprise. "Geesh Xehanort what the hell," he said.

Xehanort laughed loudly at his handiwork as he helped Eraqus steady himself.

"Sorry Eraqus I couldn't pass up the opportunity," said Xehanort.

Eraqus gave a short laugh wearing an amused look. "It's not that big a deal-" he punched Xehanort lightly on the arm. "-To be honest I didn't think you had that kind of thing in you. You're usually so straitlaced," he said.

Xehanort punched Eraqus lightly in return. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

The boys continued to laugh as the headed away from Master Ansem's study.

"So your dad is..." Xehanort started.

"Intimidating, bossy, out of touch with how to be a parent," Eraqus listed off.

"I think intimidating would have been my first inclination, but I suppose those other adjectives could also be applied," Xehanort said with a laugh.

"So what did my father want anyway?" Eraqus asked, turning to Xehanort with a look of curiosity.

"Well, he wanted to know if I was really from another world. Then he wanted to hear the story about how I got here. So I told him 'pretty' much everything," Xehanort said.

"Only 'pretty' much everything?" Eraqus asked.

Xehanort nodded. "Yeah I kind of...left some details to myself," he said.

"That was probably smart, it's best to not place all your eggs in one basket. Especially if that basket is being held by my father."

Xehanort gave Eraqus a questioning look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Eraqus stopped walking momentarily "My father has been known to like controlling the situation. He likes order and structure. Sometimes he manipulates things in order fit things into the way he feels they should be," Eraqus explained.

Xehanort nodded, relieved his instinct to not be totally trusting of Master Ansem wasn't unfounded.

Eraqus continued to walk as he further elaborated. "I'm not saying you have to be completely on guard with him but some things are better kept unsaid. Like that page, you told me about. With everything you told me about it was capable of...perhaps it's best my father didn't know about something like that."

Xehanort nodded agreeing that his actions were probably the best way to handle the situation for now.

"So what else did he want?" Eraqus asked.

"He offered to take me back home..back to the Islands," Xehanort responded.

Eraqus suddenly stopped walking a look of sadness, and disappointment crossing his face. "Oh...I suppose you would want to go home to your family... not much reason to stick around here... I mean I completely understand and-"

Xehanort held up a hand to stop Eraqus' rambling.

"Relax Eraqus I turned down the offer. To be honest I don't think he really wanted me to accept the offer rather he just wanted to see what choice I would make," Xehanort said.

A look of relief swept over Eraqus as his usual mischievous grin slid back on his face.

"Well that's cool not that anyone would miss your loud snoring," he said casually.

Xehanort gave Eraqus a playful shove. "Says the guy about to cry because he thought his best friend was about to leave."

Eraqus put his hands behind his head. "I don't know what you're talking about but I sure as hell wasn't about to cry," he said laughing.

Eraqus gave Xehanort a shove.

"Last one to the old training grounds has to do dishes tonight." he said, taking a head start.

The two boys took off out of the castle and raced off for the training grounds.

...

Several minutes later the two friends lay in heaps of exhaustion having finally arrived at the training grounds.

"Looks like I win," Xehanort said.

"No way I totally got here first," Eraqus responded.

Instantly, the two boys kipped up into combative stances.

"Tiebreaker spar," they said simultaneously.

Eraqus went over to the trainer's shed and pulled out two practice swords. Tossing one to Xehanort, he faced his friend and took his battle stance. As always the two gave each other a bow of respect before charging into combat. The two friends rushed at each other, each preparing to strike when suddenly they were interrupted by a blonde haired girl who, swiftly jumped between them. As Xehanort held back his strike to prevent himself from hitting her, she tossed him a wink. She then caught Eraqus' attack with her own practice sword. She used her blade to catch the hilt of Eraqus' and twisted it. Eraqus' sword immediately fell out of his hand clattering to the floor. She then gave Eraqus a light push knocking him softly to the ground.

"Sorry little bro but you had your fun-" She turned to Xehanort and pointed her sword at him. "-Now it's my turn to test the new guy."

Xehanort studied the girl, completely caught off guard by her presence. Eraqus had always mentioned he had an older sister, but since Xehanort had arrived, he had yet to meet her. She looked about Xehanort's age and was strikingly beautiful. She had long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail with a few stray bangs left hanging over her forehead. She wore a sleeveless button up of oriental style. Attached to the shirt was an ornately decorated, pale blue hood. She wore white fingerless gloves over long, black arm sleeves that came up to her elbow. Two belts crossed over her waist forming an X, the belts held two pouches on each side and hung over her skirt. The attire was finished off by knee-length leggings and armored boots. Her look was admittedly a lot more modern looking than Eraqus'. It was a perfect combination of girly and intimidating.

Xehanort looked into her piercing blue-green eyes, and it was there the real story was told. When Xehanort met with Eraqus' father, his eyes held an aura of power and confidence. This girl's eyes held the same aura, magnified by a hundred. Her eyes held confidence, intelligence, and a fiery burning passion; all twinkling simultaneously in their blue glow. She winked and slid on a mischievous smirk identical to the one her brother frequently wore.

"Are you going to check me out all day or are we going to fight," she said rather bluntly, laughing at Xehanort's obvious discomfort.

Xehanort blushed, snapping out of his daze. He gave her a smile of his own, readying himself for combat. "Sure why not I could use some practice."

The girl merely laughed as Eraqus looked on with a worried look.

"Go easy on him Nadia," he said.

Xehanort took slight offense to the remark. He was unsure of what to expect but she couldn't be much more of a threat then Eraqus if the two had trained together. Xehanort took his stance and charged straight for Nadia, hoping to catch her off guard. He quickly moved in swinging his sword in a downward arc. Nadia merely stood there unflinchingly. She easily caught the strike with her blade and knocked it away. Using the opening she ducked under Xehanort's second strike and elbowed him in the stomach before pushing him backward, creating distance between the two. Xehanort quickly realized that his previous assumption about her skill level being no better than her skill level was wrong. Dead wrong.

Xehanort tightened his focus as Nadia effortlessly volleyed a series of slashes that Xehanort had just barely managed to parry. Her speed with the weapon was impressive, wielding it with the skill of a seasoned master. Xehanort began pushing back her strikes with some of his own. His father had been training him in the art of swordplay since he was five. He wasn't about to dishonor his father's teaching by being easily defeated. He began pressuring her with a flurry of fast strikes, trying to bait her to strike back. He let his guard down slightly to give the false illusion that there was an opening she could take advantage of. Nadia took the bait and quickly jabbed her sword towards the opening. Xehanort took advantage of her momentum and used his blade to hook the hilt of her sword. He twisted his blade loosening her grip on the sword and then knocked it out of her hand with another strike. Nadia gave Xehanort a look of surprise as he moved in for the final strike. He jumped in the air and swung downward preparing to finish the fight. Before he could land however Nadia quickly performed a backward cartwheel, completely dodging Xehanort's strike, which instead hit the ground. Just as quickly she surged forward and kicked Xehanort's sword out his hand, grabbing his arm in the process. She turned into him and using her body as leverage flipped Xehanort over her shoulder. Before Xehanort could even raise his head, her knee was at his throat.

"Checkmate, I win," she said with a wink.

Xehanort was impressed beyond believe, he had never seen someone with the skill level of her caliber. Not even his father, who Xehanort had long surpassed, matched Nadia's skill in combat.

Eraqus chuckled at Xehanort's expense. "Don't worry dude, Nadia is the best warrior in the entire school. She's even kicked our father's a-"

Nadia shot Eraqus a threatening look. "Don't be disrespectful, little brother. Unless you would like go another round."

Eraqus put his hands behind his head. "I'll pass, I still have bruises from our last sparring session," he said sheepishly. "Xehanort meet my sister Nadia. Nadia, this is Xehanort who by the way is doing dishes tonight."

Nadia looked back at Xehanort.

"Nice to meet you Xehanort," she said.

"Nice to meet you too... but can you get off me please," said Xehanort in constricted voice, as he still had Nadia's knee embedded in his throat.

"Oops," Nadia said with a laugh.

She got off Xehanort, offering him her hand to help him get up. Xehanort took it noticing how nice it felt and how warm it was. He was also suddenly painfully aware of how sweaty his hands were. Once he got up Nadia began circling around him like a hawk studying its prey.

"Hmmm good posture,-" She grabbed his bicep and gave it a squeeze."-excellent muscle tone,-" She playfully stroked her hand against his face, winking in the process. "-nice jawline."

Xehanort had little experience with women but it was obvious that Nadia was a flirt and was immensely enjoying making Xehanort squirm. She stopped circling Xehanort and looked toward her brother.

"You certainly found a decent recruit little bro, unlike the usual scrubs we have to deal with," she said.

She returned her attention to Xehanort. "Sorry about the whole judo flip thing...that was the first time someone has ever disarmed me, so I kinda got carried away..." she said, trailing off.

Xehanort subconsciously rubbed his throat. "That's okay I can see why no one's ever disarmed you. You're beautiful!" he said, before realizing what he actually said.

"I mean, you're amazing...I mean...uh you're very skilled," he stuttered.

Eraqus walked over to Xehanort and draped an arm around him "Geesh buddy do you always get this nervous around pretty girls. Relax Nadia is one of us-" he pulled Nadia under his other arm. "-We're going be three peas in a pod." He suddenly let them both go. "Although that will start after Xehanort get's over the fact that he has to do both our dishes."

Eraqus and Nadia burst into laughter and after glaring at them Xehanort joined in. The three of them began heading back to the castle enjoying the new bonds of friendship that the day had forged.


A/N: Semi-important update I've done a bit of editing to all the previous chapters. Nothing major mostly corrections however I added a bit to the previous chapter particularly then end of Xehanort's conversation with Master Ansem. It will be an important point towards the end of the story.

On a side note let me know what you think of Nadia. She's a real charmer if I do say so myself!